Even if the liturgy is glitchy,or there is a tech fault,Christ is born, Christ is born among us. Even if the fudge crumbles when you cut it,or the pastry is not your best,Christ is born in our midst. Even if the news is full of doom,and people are behaving terribly,Christ, the Prince of Peace, is… Read More
Preaching on Christmas Eve 2020
Today I cut the side of my toe. I cut it in a weird way. I took a long walk to try to stretch out my aching hips, which are tight from sitting too much in a season of many things to do. In the late afternoon sun, I walked through my town and I… Read More
Christmas Prayer: Finishing
Every year we follow the pattern: a few stars, perhaps, and a shepherd or two, the baby, of course, with a few key words (peace, joy, love, o holy night) and some random act of kindness – coats and gloves collected for LGBTQ youth, a cake baked for a noisy neighbor – or something that… Read More
Christmas Eve Prayer
Like the blackbird singing before the dawn, Like the whippoorwill waiting to romance the moon, Like the newborn longing for breath as it crowns, Like the writer trusting the word to arrive, Like the waves rising to the wind’s caress, Like the fig trees casting seed for future fruit, Like the shepherds watching their flocks… Read More
Saturday Prayer – Christmas Eve Eve
Hey God, Somewhere I heard that everything is a prayer. If that is true, can this list be my prayer today? Grocery store run. Check. Put tree up. Check. Shovel walk. Check. Hospital visits. Check. Walk dogs. Check. Sermons one, two, three. More or less check. Wrap presents. About half check. Prepare the complicated… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Word! (John 1:1-18)
“In the beginning,” John starts out, calling us back to creation and the vision of a new creation here. In this new creation, the Word of God is alongside God, a partner is creation, until it takes on flesh. Like the first creation story in Genesis 1, this creation has the feeling of praise-filled poetry. … Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Born in the Night, Mary’s Child (Luke 2:1-20)
The story of Jesus’ birth is so well known that even Saturday Night Live can parody it, assuming that their audience will know the story. Twice-a-year church attenders, college students dragged to church while home on winter break, and our Jewish neighbors all know this story. Is there anything left to say about it,… Read More
Christmas Greetings from RevGalBlogPals
Around the world, whether you mark the arrival of Christmas Day with bells and organ peals, guitar and lit candles, or an exhausted sigh of relief, we wish you a Merry Christmas! In churches large and small, the faithful service of pastors may seem like the unnoticed detail at this time of the year, but… Read More
Ask the Matriarch: Christmas Eve traditions
To the Worthy Matriarchs, I am serving in a new-to-me church this year and had a meeting recently with the Director of Music to plan our Christmas Eve service. Given that pastoral and musical territory overlap a great deal on that night, I wanted to be sure we undertook our planning with an attitude of… Read More
Monday Extra: Christmas Eve Worship Share
What does your church do on Christmas Eve? Do you have more than one service? Are there varied services at different times, or do you repeat an order of worship? Do you plan a service for families? Is your Christmas Pageant on Christmas Eve? Is there a late service, beginning or ending around midnight? Join… Read More
